Russia

On-The-Go “Origins”

On-The-Go invites you to fascinating journey across the history of Russian pop. They’re one of the oldest and the biggest band in the Russian indie-scene. So, their new album is a massive thing apriori. But as always, their sound transforms again.

It varies between synth-pop, lo-fi blues and indie-folk. And you absolutely have to listen to the stunning and charming voice of Yura Makarychev – over a few years he’s become a world-class singer.

Padla Bear Outfit “No Star Horoscope”

The leading band of the Russian lo-fi scene released their previous album in 2011. After 5 years of silence, they brought three new albums in 2016 and “no star horoscope” is the best one. Labeled as geek-pop or in a more traditional manner antifolk, messy music of Padla Bear Outfit is outside of any clear categories.

Ne Tvoe Delo “Best Hits”

Ne Tvoe Delo (Не Твое Дело) appeared last year when they uploaded two ratherunexpected clips on YouTube, where a woman performs in a small cafe in the middle of nowhere. The performer pretty soon was recognized as Ayrapetova Anya, former artist of Manicure band.

But the rest of the band was hidden for a while — it turned out that they are ex-Manicure members as well: Jora Kushnarenko and Ildar Iksanov, both also from Trud. Together they perform nostalgic Russian pop with techno influences.

СБПЧ “My – ogromnoye zhivotnoye…”

New album from СБПЧ (SBP4), “Мы – огромное животное, и мы вас всех съедим!”, is still full of funny, ironic and sad songs about love, friendship and loneliness. Musicians themselves say the album is perfect for disco for parents with their kids.

Buerak “Tantsy po Raschyotu”

On “Tantsy po Raschyotu” (Танцы По Расчёту), Sibirian duo Buerak (Буерак) play simple and honest music — melodic post-punk that would sound appropriate both in Manchester at the disco in the 80s and at the underground gig in any Leningrad House of Culture in the ’90s.

Motorama “Dialogues”

Since their first self-produced album “Horse” in 2008, Motorama have gone their own melodious seamless way, carving out a niche in the musical landscape. On “Dialogues”, addictive pop floats on a raft of wondrous melancholy, breathtaking lyricism, clever keyboards and a muffled but dancing bass. Let’s go exploring.

Mujuice “Amore e Morte”

Roman Litvinov aka Mujuice used to create and perform mostly techno and instrumental music. But “Amore e Morte”, an album full of songs with lyrics, is absolutely different. 10 tracks dedicated to love and death.

Parks, Squares and Alleys “Parasites”

The soft warning begins as a seemingly flawless track skips and hops across your brain. The abrupt exclamation of Sergey Khavro’s lyrics ignites into the up-tempo sound coming from your speakers as he sings. My personal favorite young band, they remind me of the best tracks of Ariel Pink.